RWBY: Necrophobia
by Shadow of Omega
Summary: Team RWBY is sent to investigate a SDC train that has gone dark. All is quiet onboard... until something attacks them. Soon they find themselves uncovering the dark secrets of the past...But some secrets are meant to stay buried. Rated M for Blood and Gore.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Dead Space. Be warned of blood and gore.**

**Prologue**

**XXXXX**

Summer Rose ran down the corridor as fast as she could. She could hear it all around her. The screams of people she knew, their yells of pain and shrieks of horror. It pained her to simply run by the rooms where she knew the people she'd called co-workers over the past two months were dying. But she couldn't stop now. Not while she was carrying the most precious thing in her world in her arms.

Sound asleep in her arms was Ruby, her little seven-year-old girl. The only signs that assured Summer her daughter was still alive were her quiet breaths and the barely noticeable rising and lowering of her chest. She hadn't stirred once in the time she had been rescued from that surgery bench. Her little arm was still bleeding though the bandages which had been placed around the stitches in her arm.

_How could I let this happen?_ Summer's thought all but consuming her, _What kind of Mother lets this happen to their child?_

Summer rounded the corner and spotted her objective: The elevator room, her one remaining chance to get her and her daughter back to the safety of the surface. There were only two obstacles her way: a good 200 feet of hallway and… She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh God…" She said quietly, trembling at the sight before her. There was no mistaking it now. This…This _thing_ was once a person. There was just enough of its face left for her to see what was left of a person she'd never taken the time to talk to. But maybe that was a good thing. She didn't know if she would have been able to take it if it had been someone she knew personally.

Summer snapped back to reality when she heard the thing in front of her screech. It had begun to walk towards her at a quick pace, its arm blades swinging back and forth. Then it stopped moving and grew very, very still. For a moment neither of them moved. Summer held her daughter tighter as the thing suddenly tensed up. In an instant the thing was charging her at top speed, screeching with murderous fury. Summer ran towards it as well and the distance between the two began to close. With every step they grew closer together and in moments they were facing each other with only a few feet between them. Summer planted her foot at an angle and pushed with all her might. The thing was still moving in the same direction, unable to compromise for her change in direction. But that didn't stop one of the monster's blades from cutting deep into her arm smearing her blood across the floor.

Summer ignored the agony that was coming from her arm and clutched her daughter even tighter as she made a dash for the elevator room. The creature took a few moments to stop and turn around but every second it took was another second Summer used to get closer to the room. It began to charge her again but now that the way was clear Summer activated her Semblance. Never before had she felt so blessed to have been given the gift of speed for her ability and she made full use of it. It was only moments later she arrived at the entrance to the elevator room and she slammed the button to open the automated door.

The three seconds the door took to slide open were both the longest and most terrifying of her life as the monster came ever closer to her and her daughter. When it did open, Summer stepped inside and slammed the Close button as hard as she could. As Summer quickly turned her head she saw the creature's horrific form be concealed behind the sliding door. The moment the door sealed she heard the massive *_THUD_* of the Necromorph slamming into the steel door. Summer leaned her back to the wall, sliding down onto the floor, knowing that the Necromorph couldn't possibly…

_Necromorph,_ Summer thought, realizing the word she'd just used to describe the creature. _How do I know that word?_

It was obvious to her though. It had to be those rocks, those fragments, those little pieces from hell whispering in her mind. At first she'd questioned why she was needed to guard those few bits of weird stone. Now she wanted to know who to beat for the deaths of everyone around her.

Summer was shaken from her rage when she heard the soft yawn of her daughter. Now that there was a moment were their lives weren't in imminent danger, she took a moment to examine her daughter. She permitted a small smile to appear on her face when she found that, aside from what Steinman did to her arm, Ruby was completely fine. Her smile only grew when she looked up to the elevator in front of her and realized that now they could leave this deathtrap.

She slowly stood up, daughter in arms, and took a couple of strides toward the elevator. She could almost feel it now; the wind on her face and the sun on her skin. She shakily raised her bloodied arm, not daring to chance her daughter with the damaged limb and put her trembling finger on the button. She pressed it…

Nothing.

_No._ Summer thought as she pressed it again. Still nothing. _No, no, no._ She started to press the button franticly, the smile on her face quickly fading. All the while the elevator remained silent. _No, no, No, NO, OH DEAR GOD __**NO!**_ Summer starting pounding her entire fist against the button, desperate to hear the sound of the thing working. She starting to sob uncontrollably, slowly falling to her knees, banging against the button in the vain hope that the doors would open.

Her pounding of the button slowly came to a stop. She simply sat on her knees, crying and holding her daughter close to her. Her eyes were closed, tears flowing down the sides of her face.

"I'm sorry Ruby." Summer told her unconscious daughter.

"I'm sorry too, Summer." Summer's eyes blinked open as she turned to her side to see the wall monitor slowly flash to life, a pixilated face slowly becoming clearer. "I am so, so sorry."

Summer could barely make out the words through her sobs, which began to stop. But there was no mistaking that voice. She barely managed to choke out the name; "Elsa."

"It's been a while hasn't it old friend?" Elsa said, her face coming into clear view on the screen before Summer. "Three, maybe four months?"

"Elsa," Summer said again, "what do you mean you're sorry?"

"What I mean?" Elsa's eyes looked away from Summer towards the floor, as if she'd been hoping to avoid being asked that question. She looked back up towards Summer. "Well…" She paused, unable to bring herself to say the words.

"Elsa," Summer's voice channeling the raising anger from being in this nightmare. "I have my daughter in my arms. You _know_ what she means to me. So let me ask this again: What. Do. You. Mean. You're. Sorry."

Elsa closed her eyes and Summer could just barely make out a tear sliding down her cheek. Elsa took a deep breath and looked back up at Summer, a stern look on her face. "I can't let you leave."

Even though she knew the words were coming Summer still couldn't believe them. "W-What?"

"I can't let you leave." Elsa repeated the calm in her tone clearly being forced. "We…We can't risk you being infected from those…"

"Necromorphs." Summer spat the word out as though it was poison. "Their called Necromorphs."

"Necromorphs?" Elsa asked. "How do you know that?"

"You tell me." Summer was now looking at Elsa with borderline fury. "You're the one who's been looking at those rocks that caused this." Elsa had maintained her composure until the mention of the fragments. She looked away from Summer again and looked like she was trying to work up the nerve to ask something. Summer realized the only thing it could be. "Don't you dare-"

"We need you to retrieve one of the fragments."

Summer slowly set Ruby down and laid her on the ground. She then stood up and stared at the image before her. In a flash she slammed her fist into the monitor, smashing both it and what few bones hadn't been broken in her bloodied arm. Her breathing was heavy with the rage she felt coursing through her veins as she felt the broken limb fall limply to her side. The monitor sparked furiously as bits of broken glass began to fall.

"Was that really necessary Summer?" Elsa's voice played through the room speakers and her image began to appear on opposite wall monitor.

"…No." Summer said sternly. "But if I had another arm to spare I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Elsa took a deep breath and looked at Summer.

"Like I said we need you to-"

"If you so much as _dare_ to ask me to go out there to get what caused this hell hole, I will find some other way out of this pit and kill you myself." Summer wasn't even trying to hide the pure hatred in her voice anymore.

"Summer," Elsa began again, almost pleadingly, "you don't even have to go too far. The nearest fragment is in-"

"Steinman's operating theater." Summer said. Elsa looked thoroughly surprised if not outright shocked.

"How…How the heck do you know that?" Elsa managed to get out. Summer did not respond. Instead she looked at her daughter. Elsa's eyes moved from Summer to Ruby.

"Oh, I get it." Elsa said, putting together what had happened. "You saw the fragment when you went to get Ruby out of recovery. Am I right?"

"No." Summer stated, eyes closed.

"No?" Elsa asked, confusion once again appearing on her face and tone. "What do you mean by that?"

Summer tilted her head toward the floor. Through the video feed Elsa could make out the tears sliding down Summer's face. "S-She wasn't in recovery."

"…What are you talking about?" Elsa's tone indicated that she was now the one who had no idea what was going on. "Her operation was scheduled to have been finished a few hours ago. There's nowhere else she could have been."

Summer gave a small chuckle, as though Elsa had unknowingly delivered the punch line of a twisted inside joke. She raised her eyes and looked directly at Elsa. "Do you really think so?" Summer's eyes widened suddenly and a sadistic grin began to grow on her face. "You have access to the security feeds for the whole complex, right." It was not a question. "Why don't you see for yourself. And while you're at it, take a good look at the nightmare that's been unleashed here."

Elsa turned her head and a light shined upon her face. Her fingers moved over what only could have been another touchscreen. There was silence between the two as Elsa watched the footage. At first she managed to keep a straight face as she watched the footage on fast forward. But her composure soon faltered and collapsed as she continued to watch. Elsa's mouth was stuck open in a gasp of horror at the images that danced across the screen.

_Whatever they showed her about these things._ Summer thought to herself while taking some form of joy at Elsa's extreme discomfort. _Must have only been the tip of the iceberg_.

Soon, Elsa's hand touched the monitor to stop the video feed. Her face was incredibly pale and she couldn't stop the trembling from what she'd just seen. It looked like she was trying to let out a scream but was too afraid to. Looking at her disgusted Summer.

"You think that's bad?" She asked impatiently. "_I'm_ the one who's actually down here!"

Elsa stopped trembling at the words. She simply stared at Summer. "I'm sorry Summer." She managed to choke out. "If I could do something I would."

Summer looked down at the ground, eyes closed. Elsa might have well have just given her a death sentence.

"What about Ruby?"

Summer snapped her head back up to the monitors. "What?"

"…Think of it like this." Elsa said after a moment. "We can't let you leave or we'd break quarantine. Ruby on the other hand-" Summer did not like where this was going. "-hasn't had any form of contact with those…Necromorphs. Not to mention…" Elsa hesitated another moment. "Steinman's actions. I'm sure the overseers would be happy to find an exception." Elsa paused another moment, but not to find her next words.

"And Ruby gets out alive."

Summer stood shocked, trying to process what her friend had just told her. She'd just been given an impossible choice.

_And yet…_ She thought as tears of sorrow began to slide down her face. _There's no choice at all._

Minutes passed by in silence before Summer spoke. "I have a few conditions."

"I'm listening."

The spent the next few minutes talking. Or rather, they spent that time negotiating. Both had an ace up their sleeve: Summer had Ruby and Elsa had the exit. Soon a deal was struck and an hour later the preparations were met. Ruby's uncle was at the top of the Elevator waiting to receive Ruby but with no idea of what was happening beneath his feet. All that remained was the hardest thing: putting Ruby alone in the elevator.

Summer slowly picked up Ruby with her good arm, as she could barely even feel the other one. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. She'd never get to see her little girl grow up. Never get to hold her baby in her arms. Never again.

And yet…She couldn't help but find a little pleasure. Ruby would live. That was all that mattered. She walked into the elevator and put Ruby on the far wall. It wasn't necessary, but every moment she held Ruby was a moment of happiness. Summer began to turn away, sobbing softly when she heard it.

"Mommy?" Summer froze. She slowly turned around. Ruby's silver eyes where slowly blinking open. The first thing that she noticed in her hazy vision where the tears on her mother's face. "What's going on Mommy? Why are you crying?"

Summer felt like she was going to choke. She couldn't breathe. But she managed to force the words out all the same. "It's nothing, sweetie." She was barely able to make her voice sound calm. She knelt down next to her daughter and kissed the top of her head. "J-Just go back to sleep."

Ruby slowly put her arms around her mother in a gentle hug. Her eyes were already starting to close. "Ok." She said, a soft yawn following. "Goodnight Mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, Ruby." Summer said softly as she laid her daughter down again.

Summer slowly walked out of the elevator. The doors shut silently behind her. Her hand slide over the button and pressed it. At once the sounds she'd been deprived of before became the only sounds in the room. The elevator was rising. Ruby was alive.

Now the only thing to keep Summer company was her despair.

"Don't worry." Elsa said, her own face looking heartbroken. "She'll be safe."

"Just shut up." Summer's voice was filled with the pain that filled her. "J-Just shut up."

Summer leaned her back against the broken monitor as she slid to the ground. She felt so…so empty. With Ruby gone there was only one thought left in her mind.

_I'm going to die here_. She thought. _And if that's the case…I'll need to ask one more favor._

"Elsa," Summer said. Elsa looked at Summer, surprised that she would even talk to her. "Last request for a dead friend?"

"…What's the request?" Elsa said.

"When I die…" Summer needed to take a deep breath after muttering those words. "Don't let those things in here. Ever."

"I understand." Elsa said as she began to type on another computer. Summer let her head fall downwards.

"She was right you know." Elsa looked up at Summer's words but kept typing. "That crazy little…She was right about everything."

"It seems she was." And that was the last thing either of them said to each other.

Summer cried the last tears she had left in her. She didn't know what was worse. That she was going to die in this hellhole. Or that she'd sent her daughter with a piece of it.

**XXXXX**

**A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "RWBY: Necrophobia". This is the first fanfiction I've made in a while. And as a personal precaution to make sure I know where I'm going with this story, I've taken some time to plan a little ways ahead. Please follow, favorite, or leave a review and let me know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2 of "RWBY: Necrophobia". Enjoy.**

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Present Day

"_Welcome back to the VNN. In this segment we will be continuing coverage of an unresponsive Schnee Dust Company train. In a brief recap for our viewers the SDC train departed almost four full days ago. While such things are normally routine the anomaly in this case is a complete communications blackout that occurred about six hours after its departure. The train has standard communication gear as well as backups. Furthermore, most of the sixty-eight crew members are reported to have had personal communication devices. However, when questioned, the friends and families of the crew said that they have yet to receive any word from the train. This has led officials to worry about the train and its crew. A police lockdown of the train station has been put into effect but authorities stress that this is just a precaution. Experts say that the worst case scenario is that the train may have been jumped by Grimm. However, others argue that this may be an act by the White Fang in a form of 'retribution' for the upcoming eighth anniversary of the Cerca Mine Incident, a tragedy that the SDC still has not commented on. If so, this would be their second recorded attempt at hijacking a Schnee Dust Train. In any case, officials have requested and received a freshmen team from Beacon Academy in the event that the train was taken by Grimm. We will bring you more as the story develops. This has been Lisa Lavender on VNN."_

* * *

It was dark and cloudy over Vale. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Ruby could see lightning over the horizon. Had it been a sunny day the view from the window would have actually been a lovely sight. It certainly would have helped to ease her nerves. Her eyes shifted from the horizon to the tracks next to the station. It wouldn't be long now.

To say she was nervous about her first mission was an understatement. Here she was, leader of team RWBY and she didn't have the slightest clue what she was going to do. She had been surprised when Ozpin had told them that they were receiving their first legitimate assignment. She'd kept up her usual cheerful demeanor but it had faded overnight.

"_Don't worry about it Ruby,"_ Yang had told her with a smile, _"It's our first mission, so it should be an easy one. I mean, think about it, would Ozpin really give us a mission that was something we couldn't handle?"_ Yang's expression had begun to grow sheepish when Ruby had reminded her about what they had to face in the entrance exam. _"Oh yeah…"_ She had said, _"That thing."_

Speaking of Yang, the elder sister sat down next to Ruby. She looked concerned for her younger sister. "How ya feeling Ruby?" She asked inquisitively.

"A bit nervous." Ruby replied.

"Well, I guess that's only natural." Yang said. There was a bit of silence in between the two girls. "So what do you think it is?"

"What do I think what is?" Ruby asked confused.

"You know." Yang said. "What do you think the deal is with the train?" She pointed towards Weiss and Blake with her thumb. The two were currently debating what was going on themselves. While not an aggressive argument, it looked like it was a fierce debate. "It seems those two have narrowed it down to either a Grimm attack or the White Fang. So which do you think it is?"

Ruby rested her chin on her hand and thought for a minute before answering. "Honestly…I don't think it's either." Yang looked at her with surprise. "When I think about it, the only thing that makes sense to me is that all the phones are broken or no one is bothering to answer."

Yang just stared at her sister with confusion, "Could you explain your reasoning, 'cause that seems a bit unlikely given what we were told at the mission briefing."

"Well… I know it's unlikely that all the phones would be busted."

"My thoughts exact-" Yang began but then paused as Ruby continued.

"But isn't it more likely that the phones are all broke than if they all worked and something happened and no one said anything?" Yang looked surprised. She hadn't thought about that. "I mean, what are the odds that they _could_ communicate and yet something happened so fast that none of them could? And also…didn't that report say that the train hasn't stopped since it first left? You'd think if it was Grimm or the White Fang it would have stopped or changed speed for one reason or another."

There was silence in the room. It took Ruby a moment but she realized that if it was quiet then that means Weiss and Blake had stopped their conversation. She looked at them only to find that they were staring at her. They leaned towards each other and Ruby could just barely make out what was being said.

"She has a point." Blake whispered to Weiss.

"How come we didn't think about that?" Weiss whispered back.

They continued to stare at Ruby, unaware of how uncomfortable she was becoming. She still wasn't a fan of being the center of attention. Thankfully Yang spoke up at that moment.

"Wait a minute." She began as she looked Ruby in the eyes. "If you think that nothing's wrong then why are you so nervous?"

Ruby mumbled her reply. "What?"

"I said I didn't think it through until now." Ruby said just loud enough to be heard.

At that moment Glynda Goodwitch entered the room. The professor had on her usual attire and scroll in hand. "Well then students." She said as she looked away from the scroll in her arms and towards the girls. "You are all to head to the station platform. The train is about to arrive. And your first mission is about to begin."

**XXXXX**

They heard the train before they saw it. At first Ruby had mistaken the initial sound for just more thunder. But as it got louder she realized it could only be the train moving down the tracks. All of them stood next to the platform watching the spot where the train would appear. They didn't need to wait long. Soon they saw it turn the corner and into their view.

A few moments later they saw sparks fly from the wheels of the train, the sound of metal grinding on metal filling the air. Some of the police on the station actually stopped what they were doing so they could cover their ears. It was clear that the train wasn't stopping on its own accord. It seemed that the people in the control booth had finally deemed that the train wasn't going to stop and had taken the necessary failsafe. In the event of brake malfunction, all train stations were equipped with electromagnetic railing to force an out of control train to come to a halt. It was working too.

When the train rolled up to the station it was moving rather slowly. When it came to a complete stop they could hear the sound of the pistons straining against the wheels, trying to force them to turn. It wasn't long before the train's own failsafe activated and released a cloud of steam to remove the pressure on the pistons so they wouldn't break.

Ruby looked at the train. Most of it seemed to be boxcars with a few flatbed cars. She looked towards the flatbeds as they were the only cars that could be seen entirely. The rest of her team did so as well. Then Ruby noticed it. She gagged and put her hand over her mouth at the sight of blood smeared across the train car. She also pinched her nose so as not to smell, (what she couldn't identify as,) the stench of death and decay.

**XXXXX**

**Well I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of RWBY: Necrophobia! (Second chapter…That's a bit of a milestone for me.) I feel the need to mention that this is primarily a **_**RWBY**_** fanfiction. The main **_**Dead Space**_** aspects will be the Marker, Necromorphs, insanity, and the atmosphere. Well, please follow, favorite, or leave a review letting me know what you thought of this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter 3 of **_**RWBY: Necrophobia**_**. Enjoy.**

**XXXXX**

Yang was surprised with herself. After seeing blood on the platform, you'd think she'd be a bit more frightened. Okay, she had freaked out on the inside when she saw it but it was probably safe to say that the rest of her team had too. Ruby hadn't bothered to hide her…discomfort at the scene and it had taken a minute or two for Yang to help her sister. The fact that she'd moved the two of them away from the sight probably helped. And after Ruby had said she was OK (or rather, after the sixth time she had to tell Yang she was OK) they had been told to investigate some of the boxcars.

Yang gripped her flashlight tightly. She'd wondered why they'd each been given one but now it seemed a bit obvious: The lights on this train were completely unreliable. In the car they were in there was one ceiling light that would flicker to life for just a few moments before plunging the room into darkness again.

"Well," Yang said. "I think that this car's clear."

"Clear or just empty?" Ruby asked. To the surprise of the two sisters the car was nearly empty. They'd expected creates filled with Dust or…well, actually they just expected creates filled with Dust.

"Soooo," Yang began, "Was it a robbery?"

"Hard to tell." Weiss spoke up as she looked around the car.

"What do you mean hard to tell?" Yang asked. "There's nothing left in here! So unless whatever was in here just got up and walked away, I don't think-"

"Yang Xiao Long," Weiss cut in. "For once, you're actually on the right track."

Yang (and for that matter Ruby) just stared at Weiss in confusion. "Whaaa."

Weiss let loose an irritated sigh. "This car never had any Dust in it."

"Why not?" Ruby asked. Before Weiss could explain, Blake answered her.

"This car's purpose is to hold the train's supply of security androids." Blake then aimed her flashlight at the wall. "Seeing as how they're not here, it's safe to assume that they were already deployed."

Weiss looked at Blake for a moment before looking away from her. "I'm not quite sure I want to know how you know that."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Yang decided to speak up. "Well, no point in staying around here then."

At those words she began to move towards the door of the next car. She stopped when she reached the door to it. "Uh," Unlike the door outside, which had only had a single 'Open' button this thing had a panel next to it with a lot of different buttons. She looked back at the rest of the girls, an expression of slight embarrassment on her face. "How exactly do you get this thing open?"

"Red button on the upper right-hand side of the control panel." Blake said nonchalantly. Weiss looked at her and opened her mouth to ask how she knew that. Then she realized that she didn't want to know.

Yang pressed the button and the door hissed open and they proceeded into the next car.

"OK," Yang said as she looked around with her flashlight. "This is more like it."

The car's lights may have been completely shut off, but Yang's flashlight showed that the entire car seemed to be filled with creates. Weiss went over to one and opened it. Her face became lit with the dim glow of Dust crystals. She smiled slightly and then began to point at each create, one after another, and seemed to be muttering something under her breath.

"What are you doing?" Blake asked.

"I suppose this could be called taking inventory." Weiss said, not even looking at Blake. Blake's expression showed disapproval for a moment before she took a breath and spoke again.

"Are you telling me that we're supposed to be finding out what happened and you're busy making sure that your shipments arrived?"

Weiss's eyes closed in what appeared to be annoyance. "Actually Blake, I _am_ trying to figure out what's going on." Weiss opened her eyes. "Given what we saw on the…" Weiss looked like she was trying to bring herself to mention the blood that was splattered all over the first train car but after a few moments of trying to do so she just gave up on it. "The…You know what, it's safe to say that this train was likely attacked. And based on other peoples' theories, it's either the Grimm or the White Fang." Weiss waved her flashlight across the crates. "Seeing as how this car is just the second one from an outside entrance, it's safe to say that if the White Fang were involved-"

"Then they would have stolen the Dust in here." Blake finished and look down at the floor. She sounded like she had just had to admit something she was didn't want to be true.

"Yes they would have." Weiss said. Then she looked back at the crates. "But it looks like all the crates are actually here."

Blake's eyes shot back up in surprise. "So does that mean…"

Weiss looked at the group. "Help me check a few more of these crates. We can't tell if the Dust is still here from just one, but we don't have time to check them all."

Ruby, Yang, and Blake each went over to a different crate. Weiss also did the same. One by one each lid popped open.

"This one's full." Blake said, a relieved smile forming.

"Same here." Weiss said as she checked her second crate.

"Ditto." Yang said.

"Umm…" All eyes turned towards Ruby. "I think one's missing."

The three girls each moved over to Ruby. She was shining her flashlight across the top of the crate. The Dust crystals where in perfect rows, each one in a slot on a stackable rack. However, there was one crystal missing on the first row.

"So Weiss," Ruby asked looking at her partner. "Does this mean it's a robbery, or not a robbery, or-"

"It means that someone was probably careless and didn't put one in there." Weiss said. "Or maybe it fell to the bottom of the crate." Weiss looked towards Blake and Yang. "Come on. No reason to stick around here."

The two nodded and headed towards the door. Yang reached and pushed the button. The door showed no signs of opening. Yang began to push the button impatiently. Still nothing. "Oh come on!" Yang turned towards Weiss. "The door's not opening."

"That's because it's already open." Blake said as she quickly examined the door. Yang turned and looked at Blake, confused. Blake simply moved her flashlight closer to the door. "It's just barely open. Maybe an inch or so." Blake inserted her fingers into the gap of the door and began to pull. "Yang, give me a hand with this."

Yang went over to Blake and the two began to yank on the door. After a few moments the door began to slowly slide, with a loud metal screech. When there was enough space for them to pass both Blake and Yang let go of the door and started panting for breath. "Hey Weiss," Yang said in between breaths. "Why are these things so hard to move?"

Weiss walked over to the panel and took a closer look at it. She began to mumble as she waved her hand over several buttons. Then she pressed one. Without a sound, the door slid shut. Yang and Blake just stared at Weiss. Yang opened her mouth to question why Weiss would do that.

"Hold on a second." Weiss said, not taking her eyes off the panel. Her fingers drifted towards the number pad and she entered in a short series of numbers. Then she pressed another button and the door slid open. Weiss looked back at Yang. "You wanted to say something."

Yang's mouth hung open for a second before she decided what to say. "Why didn't you just do that in the first place?"

"Because, based on what you were doing, I thought the door was busted." Weiss said, sounding as though she had been accused of something ridiculous. "There was a security lockdown on the door. So I just entered in the security code."

"And how do you have that?" Yang asked.

Both Weiss and Blake turned and stared at Yang.

"Yang." Blake said. "Her family _owns_ this train and you're seriously asking _how_ she knows the passcodes?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Yang, looking sheepish, spoke again. "_OK_, in hindsight, that probably was a dumb question." She began to head towards the door.

Blake just sighed at her partner's foolish question and followed her into the next car. Weiss followed her and was almost through the door when she remembered something. She turned her head to look back into the car.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Weiss said, clearly annoyed by what she was seeing.

Ruby was currently was sticking her arm in the gap of the Dust racks at her crate. "You said the crystal might have fallen to the bottom of the crate."

"Are you kidding me? Come on, we're going."

"But I think I can feel it." Ruby said. She was about to say more but then she saw the anger that was building on Weiss's face. Deciding to do the safe thing, Ruby imminently pulled her arm out and hurried past Weiss in a flurry of rose petals. Weiss smiled slightly and moved into the next car, as the door started to slowly close behind her.

* * *

As the door came to a close the car was plunged into almost complete darkness. The only light came from the dim glow of the Dust crystals, from the crate that Ruby had forgotten to close in her haste. At the bottom of the crate was the crystal that the young girl's fingers had barely grazed. It sat there, in the loose grip of a severed hand. A small pool of blood had gathered and dried up where the limb had been severed. And now the fingers of the hand, began to twitch.

**XXXXX**

**First off, sorry this took so long to get out. Second off, Thank you all for the favorites, follows, and reviews. I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story. I hope you continue to read the chapters to come. Well, if you haven't already, please fav, follow, or leave a review to let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter four of **_**RWBY: Necrophobia**_**. Enjoy.**

**XXXXX**

Yang entered the car and was surprised to see that the overhead lights were on. Or rather, they were sort-of on. While it was still too dark to really see anything, Yang could tell that the lights definitely had power flowing through them. She turned around and began feel around for the control panel. Her fingers felt some of the buttons and she leaned in close to the panel. With the little light provided she tried to make out the array of buttons and switches. Then she realized what she was doing.

"What the heck am I doing?" Yang asked herself. She pulled out her flashlight and shined it against the panel. "Much better."

"What's better?" Blake asked, looking at her partner as she came into the car.

"Well I think that I just found the light switch." Yang said as her eyes shifted from one thing to another. "I think it's one of these…" As she spoke Blake looked ahead, shining her flashlight into the car. What she saw made her freeze.

"What the…" Blake began.

"Here it is!" Yang stated, a bit of pride in her voice. "It's a dimmer just under the mic button." At least, Yang assumed it was a mic button. It did have the little picture on it. She placed her hand on the sliding switch and moved it all the way up from its low position. "Let there be light." She said with a smile as the lights flashed on and she turned around. Her smile vanished.

Ruby and Weiss entered the car, one after another. "Hey the lights are-" The team leader began and then stopped when she saw the car.

"Oh God…" Weiss said, bringing her hands to her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.

There was blood splattered everywhere. It covered the floor and was sprayed against the walls. Most of it was dry except for a few spots that…disturbingly seemed to still be fresh and wet. Yang looked down to see she was standing in it. It was all slanted away from the wall. Yang backed away from it and saw more blood just below the control panel. It was a single, long streak that went all the way down to the floor. Yang took a few more steps back as she realized _what_ she had been standing on.

Drag marks. Drag marks of someone who had been pulled through a puddle of their own blood.

Yang closed her eyes and leaned against a crate (hoping that there wasn't blood on it). "Dear Lord…Give me a minute." Yang began to take deep breaths in and out.

When Yang had taken a few minutes to... accept this wasn't some sort of twisted nightmare (even though it was), she opened her eyes. What she saw now was Ruby looking at her, her eyes filled with concern for her older sister.

"You OK Yang?" She asked.

"Yeah," Yang answered. "I'm OK."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're sure you're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"So you're sure-"

"How many times are you going to make me tell you I'm OK?" Yang interrupted, a tad annoyed.

"The same number of times I had to tell you I was fine when we were on the platform." Ruby countered. The two sisters stared at each other. Then a small smile appeared on each one and they began to crack up. Then Ruby stopped laughing, with a stern expression on her face. "In all seriousness though, are you OK?"

"Yes."

"Phew." Ruby sighed. Ruby continued to stare at her older sister.

"Are _you_ OK?" Yang asked, growing a bit worried for her younger sister. Ruby said nothing. Yang, feeling that her sister needed comforting, gave Ruby a gentle but firm hug.

"Are you two done yet?" Weiss asked. Yang let go of Ruby and was about question why Weiss would interrupt her comforting her little sister, but then she took a good look at Weiss. She was trembling and her eyes seemed to be darting around every few moments. It was clear to Yang; Weiss didn't want to be here a second longer than she had to.

"You need a hug too?" Yang asked jokingly. What then disturbed Yang at that moment was not the blood she saw around the girl in white, but rather how she actually looked like she was considering the offer.

"You have to be kidding me…" Yang heard the words and was relieved to think that Weiss was still her normal self. Then she realized that it wasn't Weiss who spoke those words. It was Blake. "You three better take a look at this."

The three girls turned and walked over to their teammate. She was standing over in a corner, behind a wall of crates. Yang looked at the wall next to Blake.

"Oh, _that's_ just what I needed to see." Yang said sarcastically. "Blood graffiti."

On the wall were words written in blood. It was dry and what appeared to be another blood splatter made it difficult to read, but it was undeniably letters that were before them. Ruby tried to make out the letters to read what she hoped was a message. Weiss, however, beat her to it.

"_Death, why hast thine sanctuary been defiled?_" Weiss read aloud, her voice shaky. The team was silent for a moment. Blake looked up at the words on the wall, as though this was the first time she'd laid eyes on them. In actuality, it was.

"So, does that mean anything to anyone?" Ruby asked.

"Nope." Yang said. She then turned towards her partner. "Mean anything to you Blake?"

"It's gibberish to me." Blake said. "It's also not why I called you over here. This is." Blake pointed down by her feet.

The team looked down to see what seemed to be a Scroll. The device had a few differences though, but not too many. Around the screen was some sort of black frame that also covered the back of the Scroll. On each corner of the frame was a small, red light. Near the bottom (or at least, what seemed to be the bottom) of the screen were three rectangular lights. The middle and right lights were orange but the one on the left was blinking green.

"So you called us over for some Scroll?" Ruby asked. "What's with all the lights on it?"

Blake was silent for a moment before she spoke. "It's usually referred to as a 'Wall Scroll'. It's basically meant to be an audio messenger. And it's made and used…" Blake stopped talking and looked down at the floor. She didn't seem to want to complete her statement. But she, reluctantly, finished her sentence. "By the White Fang."

Yang and Ruby looked at Blake and then at Weiss. The heiress's eyes were now displaying the anger she no-doubt had from hearing that the White Fang was, yet again, attacking her family's company. She opened her mouth and the entire team was surprised that what came out was not a shout.

"Why exactly is that thing still here then?" Weiss asked. When she received no answer, she clarified her question. "If there's one thing I can say about the White Fang, it's that they do their best to cover their tracks. It would be idiotic of them to leave something behind that could be used as evidence. So why is that still here?" Weiss's tone shifted from restrained anger to mild curiosity. "Come to think of it, what's the point of this thing? Why not just use a normal Scroll?"

Blake, looking relieved that Weiss hadn't chosen to bring up her previous involvement in the White Fang, picked up the device.

"The idea of the Wall Scroll is to leave a message when you're trying to maintain radio silence. You'd record your message and then-" Blake pressed a button on the side of the machine and the red lights on the corner turned green. She then pressed it against the wall and let go. The Wall Scroll remained were she had placed it. "-You just stick it were you know your partner will see it." She grabbed it again and pushed the same button as before. The lights on the corners turned red and she pulled it off the wall. "Then you just take it off and leave."

"So why is it still her-" Weiss began but then fear clouded her eyes again. The fist she had made at her side began to tremble. When she spoke again, her tone expressed that she was very, very nervous. "Do you think it's possible that either they're still here. Or…" Weiss looked back up at the words written in blood. "Could _they_ be the ones who wrote that?"

"I don't know." Blake said. This was unusual for Weiss. On one hand she seemed worried that the White Fang could be here. On the other hand though…was she actually worried _for_ them? "The blinking green light means that there's a message that hasn't been played yet. However," Blake looked at the screen of the device. It was shattered to the point that nothing could be displayed. "It looks like someone chucked this at a wall." She looked at her team. "The message is probably there but I doubt I can play it on this."

"Let me see that." Yang said. Blake handed her the Wall Scroll. Yang took out her own Scroll and pulled out a small cord. She then proceeded to plug the cord into both Scrolls and then began to enter a series of commands on hers. After a few moments she spoke again "And send." Yang looked back up to see her team staring at her. "What? I just sent the data on this to Professor Goodwitch."

"And why didn't you just play it here?" Ruby asked her sister. When Yang didn't answer Ruby crossed her arms and decided to take a guess at why she didn't play the recording. "Did you blow the speakers on that thing?"

"Weelllll…" Yang said sheepishly. "Maybe?"

"Again?" Blake asked. "Didn't you just get a replacement for that same reason?" Blake sighed and looked down. "You know this means we can't hear the recording."

"Hey!" Yang said defensively. "I don't see any of you offering your Scrolls now do I?"

"_Touché_." Blake said. The rest of the team had left theirs in the dorms.

"So should we go into the next car?" Ruby asked.

Yang and Blake nodded and the three began moving before they realized that Weiss hadn't moved. They turned to see that she was still staring nervously at the blood writing.

"Weiss come on." Ruby said. She was tempted to do some sort of joke about how Weiss should hurry up. But then she realized how hypocritical that would make her, seeing as how she'd stuck around in the last car.

"Coming." Weiss said. She looked like she was contemplating something. After a moment of thinking she drew Myrtenaster. Blake caught Weiss mumble, "Just in case."

"Just in case what?" Blake asked.

"In case the thing that did _this_," Weiss said, pointing her sword at the dried pools of blood. "Is still onboard."

Blake was silent for a moment. She knew Weiss didn't have a very high opinion of faunus and an even lower opinion of the White Fang. But that didn't mean she felt it right to let Weiss refer to them as a 'thing'.

"Look I know you hate the White Fang but,-"

"I'm sorry but did I mention the White Fang?" Weiss said, cutting off Blake impatiently. That statement alone stopped Blake in her tracks. "Think about this for a second. So far we have yet to see any sign of a weapon that might have done this. Not a single bullet hole or blade impalement. So unless you're hinting that the White Fang was skilled enough to take down a squad of AK-130's before they could fire a single shot with little more than their bare hands, I don't think they were involved." Weiss stopped for a moment to catch her breath. It was shaky again, and her face showed that she was becoming afraid. "And now that I think about it, we were sent in here to see if we can find the crew or find what did this. We have yet to find _anyone_, White Fang, crew, or otherwise. All we've found is a lot of blood."

Blake was silent for a moment. Here was Weiss Schnee of people, _not_ blaming the White Fang for something, when proof of their involvement was right in front of her. Even Blake was admitting to herself that there was no other plausible conclusion.

"Weiss are you OK." Blake asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.

Weiss said nothing for a moment, and when she did speak her voice was barely more than a whisper. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not quite comfortable being here. Seeing all this blood makes me…edgy. So can we just hurry up and get this over with so we can get out of here?"

Weiss then hastily walked past her team and opened up the door. The light barely illuminated the first few feet of the next car. The team all drew their flashlights and began to enter the car. Ruby went first, followed by Weiss and then by Blake. Yang stood at the doorframe, flashlight in hand, and took one last look at the lights of the car.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." She said. At that moment the lights of the car began to flicker as one. In a moment the car was plunged back into total darkness. "Oh Come On!"

Yang sighed and turned her flashlight on. She then turned and began to follow her team into the next car.

* * *

The car was now silent. It was completely still inside. Then there was the soft pitter-patter of rain beginning. It started out as a gentle sound, but then it quickly began to grow louder. The storm that had been in the distance had come at last. And it had come in full force. With the sound of pouring rain and howling winds none of Team RWBY could hear the sound of the floor vent creek as the monster pushed its arm out of it. The creature then pulled itself out of the vent and began to use its clawed hands to pull itself towards the open door with its tail dragging behind it. It let loose a low hiss, as it half-crawled, half-slithered its way towards its newest prey.

**XXXXX**

**Alright, Chapter 4! Hope it was worth the wait. I would have made it a bit longer, but A.) This is a good stopping point. B.) I wanted to get this out before Volume 2 airs (I'm cutting that one close). And C.) I think you've all waited long enough. Well, please Fav, Follow, or leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter five of **_**RWBY: Necrophobia**_**. Enjoy.**

**XXXXX**

This was not Blake's first time on a Schnee Dust Company train. She'd been on one once before. Just once. And for all Blake knew, this could easily be the same train. But it didn't feel anything like the first time she had been there.

The first time had been on her last task as part of the White Fang. She'd been constantly moving, hurrying forward and destroying the security droids. Her mind had been thoroughly occupied with the task that had been at hand, as well as her decision to leave. Now though… Now she was truly taking in her surroundings.

This car was like most of the rest: Completely dark. If it wasn't for the flashlights it would have been impossible for her see a thing. Alright, that wasn't entirely true. Night vision was one of the few things that she could call an 'advantage' to being a faunus. However, at least for Blake, there was no real substitute for actual light.

A thundering boom shook Blake from her thoughts. She almost jumped as the thunder seemed to shake the car. Blake wasn't afraid of thunder…but then again, a loud boom preceded only by eerie silence, Blake was surprised she hadn't yelped in sheer panic. Much like Weiss was doing now.

The moment the thunder shattered the silence Weiss had Myrtenaster gripped in both hands as if her life depended on it. The poor girl was trembling like crazy and she'd gone completely pale.

"What was that?" Weiss managed to get out, not even bothering to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Well Weiss…" Yang said. "That's what's known as 'Thunder'. It follows this thing called 'Lightening' and may or may not be accompanied raaaa-" Yang's voice trailed off as Blake shoot her partner a death stare. Yang paused for a moment. "So my attempt to lighten the mood isn't working?'

"Do you even need to ask that?" Blake said. "What made you think that this was the time for that?"

Yang thought for a moment before she whispered her answer to Blake. "Alright look, I know Weiss is freaked out right now, and that is sort-of freaking _me _out. I mean, this is _Weiss Schnee_ we're talking about. Name one other time you've seen her this afraid…or afraid in general." Blake said nothing. "Thought so. I'm just trying to keep myself from thinking about what may have happened here." Yang moved her flashlight across the wall. "And that is NOT HELPING."

"What you find?" Ruby asked.

"More blood writing." Yang said. "And it makes as much sense as the last one."

Blake looked at the writing on the wall. She tried to ignore the fact that it was written in blood and focused just on the words. In all honesty, that wasn't much better.

_Don't let them get me._ That was what was written upon the wall. Someone's last, desperate plea for salvation. It also just left more questions. Who or what was 'Them'? The White Fang? Grimm? Some combination of the two? Something else entirely? Was that even possible?

Blake glanced at Weiss who was staring at the message. She was trembling like crazy, unable to stop herself from shaking. Blake was worried for her. These were things no one should ever have to see. And Weiss was clearly not ready for this.

"Hey guys," Ruby said. She was looking away from the writing and was instead focusing on a stack of crates in a corner. "Is it normal to stack all the crates in one corner?"

Weiss's gazed shifted over to the crates. Blake could swear that she saw Weiss relax, just a little bit, at the chance to focus on anything but the writing behind her. "N-No." Weiss said. She paused to take a breath to recompose herself. "That's…That's not normal. They're only allowed to stack three crates on top of each other at a time because…Because more than that runs the risk of the crates falling over with a chance to set off the Dust."

Yang walked over to the stack of crates and began to tug on the lowest one. Weiss's eyes widened in sudden panic. "Yang don-" Too late. Yang yanked the crate out of the stack and the two crates above it fell as well. Imminently they opened and red and blue Dust crystals littered the floor. Weiss was absolutely still for a moment, staring at the crystals as though each one was a live grenade. Blake also froze when she realized that they very well could be.

After a few moments had passed and they hadn't been blown up, Weiss looked back up at Yang. "Are You Freaking _INSANE_!?" Weiss shouted, her voice filled with anger at the sheer stupidity she had just witnessed. "Did you not hear a thing I just said?!"

"Well I was thinking-"

"Oh I _doubt_ you were thinking!"

"Hey!"

Weiss and Yang began to bicker back and forth. Blake sighed. She looked at Yang's eyes and saw what she felt. Relief. This was the Weiss they knew. Given the choice between Weiss being scared or angry, Blake was fairly certain they'd both prefer her being angry. Angry Weiss was something they understood. Scared Weiss, well…Blake would have to agree with Yang that Weiss being scared did kind of freak her out.

Blake's gaze then shifted from Yang to Ruby. The younger girl seemed to have gone pale, her mouth opening and closing as though she was trying to speak but couldn't. She looked…Distressed? Afraid? No, she looked absolutely terrified.

"Hey Yang." Blake said trying to get Yang's attention. No luck.

"Weiss I think-" Blake didn't even bother finishing, since the girl in white didn't so much as slow down in her rant.

"Would you two-" They were both still arguing. Now Blake lost her patience. "OI! YOU TWO!"

"_What_?" Both Weiss and Yang said simultaneously.

Blake took a deep breath before she spoke. "I think Ruby wants to tell us something."

All eyes turned towards the leader of the team. She still looked like she was trying to speak but couldn't get the words out. She was pointing at the opening in the wall of crates that Yang had made. Yang and Weiss pointed there flashlights inside the gap. Yang, like her sister, went pale. Weiss made a small, terrified sound and resumed her trembling. Blake took a few steps to the side so she could see what had everyone spooked. When she did she immediately regretted it.

She realized now that this wasn't just a wall of crates. It was a make-shift barricade. And inside it was…Well, it seems they finally found someone. Or rather, they'd finally found someone's corpse.

* * *

_It clung to the wall. Its prey were spread thin. But now they were moving. Moving towards one spot. One spot that was…constrictive. Perfect. Unaware prey was good. Cornered prey was better. For it to be both…if it still had still had a living mind, it would have described the situation as '_Its lucky day'_. It began to move across the ceiling, its low hiss inaudible over the sound of the rain pouring on the car. _

* * *

Yang leaned down to examine the body, pinching her nose so she didn't smell the decay. They'd all entered the barricade and were gathered in a loose semicircle around the body. Weiss was definitely keeping her distance, the nervous look on her face again. Alright, 'nervous' was too soft a word. The girl looked absolutely _horrified_. She looked like she wanted to faint but was too afraid to do so. And, looking at the body, Yang could understand why.

This guy was clearly White Fang. He had the standard White Fang attire of the armor and face mask. The mask had a hole in it. A bullet hole. He'd been shot in the head. Seemed to Yang that his barricade hadn't kept him as safe as he had hoped it would. He still had his side arm in his hand. As for the rest of his body…

"Good God, this is disgusting." Yang said. "It's like his flesh is, I don't know…_melting_ onto the wall." It was the best description she could give. Any exposed part of the corpse did seem to be latching onto the steel around it. Yang's eyes shifted away from…whatever-the-heck you call _that_, and saw that there was something in the body's lap.

"Hey Blake," Yang said as she picked up what was on the corpse. "Found another Wall Scroll." She tossed the device to her partner. Blake caught it and saw that there was one unplayed message. "Think you can get it to play?"

"Give me a minute." Blake replied. She turned on the screen and saw the White Fang logo appear on it. It then faded into the background as the three audio slots were displayed. Only one was filled. Blake looked back up at Yang. "Ready when you are."

Yang looked towards Ruby who nodded. "I'm good. Weiss, do you-"

"Let's just get this over with." The heiress snapped, still shaking uncontrollably.

Blake took a deep breath and then pushed the play button.

* * *

_Soon. Very soon now it would strike. It was almost over them. A few more silent pulls later and it was over them. The crates had been stacked high…But not high enough that it couldn't go in from above. The prey were all looking at something. What it was didn't matter. It was in position now. All that was left was for it to do was to decide which of its prey would die first._

* * *

"_It's been five hours since we arrived._" The voice played out of the audio log. It alone held the attention of the four girls. Blake didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't someone she knew and for that she was grateful. "_Five hours…To think it could have all gone to hell so fast. We tried to reroute the train to head to a station, any station at all. All that mattered to us was getting off this train. But those…Those _Things..._They were in the conductor car." _Blake didn't know what to make of that. Things? What the heck was this guy talking about?

She heard what sounded like a shaky breath come out of the scroll before…whoever this was continued. "_For this mission…I had to memorize the train's schedule and current route so that we would be able to direct it to the rendezvous point if we failed to take control of this thing in time. So…So I know without a doubt that we just passed by the last junction. It doesn't matter if we make it to the controls now. This train isn't going to stop until it reaches Vale and that's…That's a three day trip from this point. I…I won't survive three hours with these things, let alone three days._"

Then the device played a sound that Blake recognized. It was the sound of loading a magazine into a pistol. "_I-I'm afraid of what I'm doing now. W-Who wouldn't be? B-But I'm more worried about what will happen to me if I don't._" The sound that played now was a sharp click, signaling that the gun had been cocked. The voice sounded like it was sobbing. "_I'll…I'll never get to see her again…my little girl…Oh God._" The *BANG* that emanated from the speakers seemed to echo throughout the car. The team stared at the device in silent shock, realizing what the man had done to himself. And then they heard the hissing.

* * *

_It had decided. Now was the time for it to strike. Before it did though a loud bang came from amongst its prey. It hissed, much louder than it had before. The prey seemed to take notice of this. It prepared to jump to its target. Light shined upon it. It roared and leaped._

* * *

Weiss had heard the hissing and froze in fear. She looked towards her teammates and Blake began to move her light towards what she thought was the source of the sound. Weiss's eyes followed the light. And then she saw it. And it clearly saw her. It roared and leaped at Weiss, who was already screaming. In an instant it had her pinned to the floor, baring it's fangs at her. Her team had their weapons out in a moment. And if Weiss hadn't had Myrtenaster in her hands, she would have died in that moment. It brought its deformed jaw down, and Weiss moved her weapon, using the blade to keep it from biting her head off. She used her right hand to grip the blade of the sword and was desperately pushing against it, trying to keep the Necromorph from getting closer to her head.

"GET IT OFF ME!" She screamed in utter terror.

* * *

_The prey was being difficult. It kept pushing against it with the metal thing. It locked its fangs together and threw its head to one side, trying to remove this obstacle that was keeping the prey alive. Yet the prey still held on. It threw its head to the other side, with much more force than the first time. The prey's grip became less sturdy. Before she could recover, it tossed its head again, this time removing the blade and throwing it out of reach. And out of the corner of its eye it saw the prey that had been dressed in red. It dug its claws into the steel floor and then pivoted, swinging its tail at the girl in red. It connected but the blade didn't, so the girl was simply slammed into the wall. She lay still, knocked out by the force of the impact._

_It raised its jaw again, preparing to kill the prey beneath it, when something slammed into its face. It hissed loudly, but then whatever had hit it came back and a black blade was buried deep into its head. That would have killed it…had it not already been dead. The blade was tied to something and it was tugged again. Its head was forced to turn and it saw the other prey. It roared in fury and leapt at them._

* * *

Blake used her semblance and dashed to the side to avoid _Whatever-The-Hell_ this thing was. Doing so resulted in two things. The first thing was that she managed to dodge this monster. The second was that she got to see an image of her head disappear under the jaws of the creature. She yanked the ribbon of Gambol Shroud, trying to release it from…Was it _stuck in its head_?! Regardless, her weapon came out this time. And the thing before her…didn't even seem to slow down.

It was quickly turning around, illuminated only by the glow of the Dust crystals on the floor. What little of it she could make out would likely haunt her dreams forever. Blake heard Yang arm her gauntlets. She quickly moved back to give Yang a clear shot at the monster. She saw a flash as Yang fired a shot.

Time seemed to slow down to Blake as she realized what was going to happen. Whether or not Yang's attack would have an effect on the creature, Blake didn't know. But she did know that, since the shot was fired, the Dust crystals would no doubt go off.

The creature, as well as many crystals, were flung backwards by the attack. In a brief instant, the crystals seemed to glow much brighter. Blake didn't even have time to brace herself as the world became a blur. She felt a sensation of warm and cold. Moving and suddenly stopping. Then everything went black.

**XXXXX**

**I hope you liked this chapter. (**_**I feel the need to mention that they're not dead…In need of a hospital maybe, but not dead**_**.) Please follow, fav, or leave a review to let me know what you think. And if you've already done so…Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter 6 of **_**RWBY: Necrophobia**_**. Enjoy.**

**XXXXX**

Why did everything feel so sore? Blake wasn't sure if she had ever felt this sore in her life. She also wasn't sure which way was up. How could she not know that? She felt like she was floating or drifting or…to be honest Blake didn't know how to describe the feeling. She'd felt it before, she knew that much. Then it began to feel as though her body was slowly being laid down. No that wasn't quite right. She _was_ laying down. Finally, Blake recognized what was happening.

_Oh,_ She thought. _I'm waking up._

She began to open her eyes, but closed them tightly, the sudden brightness just a bit too much for her eyes. She tried again, opening her eyes just a little bit. She tilted her head to the side and tried looking downwards. That was a lot better. Blake slowly opened her eyes.

She was laying in a bed. Where exactly that bed was though, she didn't know. As her vision started to come into focus she could at least tell that she wasn't in her dorm. This also didn't look like the Beacon infirmary.

_Wait,_ Blake thought. _Why would I think I'm in the infirmary?_

The answer presented itself to her when she tried to sit upright. She winced as pain shot though her chest. She immediately set herself back down. Now she realized why she thought she might be in the infirmary. She was in pain.

_Alright_, She thought as she chose to scoot back slowly. _Definitely broke something._ Her head reached the end of the bed and she managed to prop her head up so she could get a better view of her surroundings. Across from her was a plain wall with only one thing painted on it: A single red cross.

_So I'm in a hospital._ Blake thought. She looked down at what she was wearing. Instead of her usual attire she was in a light blue hospital gown. Not only that, but she could feel bandages around her abdomen, each leg, and her left arm.

_Alright then, new question._ She thought to herself. _How did I-_ It came back to her in a flash. Their first official mission, the train, the blood, the writing, the…body, the explosion, and that Thing. When she remembered that horrific detail she bolted upright…only to yelp in pain from the sudden movement.

_Right,_ She thought, slowly setting herself down again. _Broke something._

"Well I guess you're up."

Blake turned her head to her left and was greeted with the sight of her partner looking at her.

"Mornin'." Yang said, a slight smile on her face. Like Blake, she was also laying down and wearing a hospital gown. There were bandages wrapped around the top of her head.

Blake's only immediate response to her partner was a groan from the pain that had shot through her chest.

"Yang," Blake managed to say at last. "How long was I out?"

"Beats me." Yang replied. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again. "Hey Blake…"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly…Do you know what happened?" Yang said, looking a bit embarrassed. "Because, I have _no_ idea how we got here. Or how I got these injuries. Or how you got those injuries. Or-"

"Are you saying you don't remember what happened?" Blake asked, shocked. "How the _heck_ could you forget that…That…"

"That what?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT!" Blake practically yelled. Whatever that monster had been, it had been too fast for her to get a clear glimpse of it. Honestly though…Blake didn't know whether or not that was a bad thing.

"Hey, cut me a bit of slack." Yang said, eyes widened by Blake's outburst. "I think I smashed my head against something…And I only woke up, I don't know, maybe three minutes before you did."

_Well that would explain the bandages on her head_. Blake thought. _She's probably still dazed from what happened…And come to think of it, so was I a minute ago._

Blake took a deep breath and spoke again. "Sorry for snapping, I just…whatever the heck that thing was, it freaked me out. Just…Just tell me the last thing you remember."

"Alright," Yang said, turning to look up at the ceiling. "Day started out with Ruby getting a message to go down to Ozpin. She came back _really_ excited."

As Yang recalled what was happening Blake became aware of a sound she hadn't noticed before: a steady series of beeps. "-Started going off about our first official mission. I got all excited too."

Blake began to pay less attention as the beeping began to become more distracting. "-Weiss then dragged us to the briefing where they talked about…Don't know, wasn't paying too much attention." Blake couldn't take it anymore.

"Sorry Yang," Blake interrupted. "But what's that beeping? It's starting to drive me crazy."

Yang stopped talking and her smile faded. She nodded her head toward something behind Blake. Taking the hint, Blake turned her head to the other side. Now she could see what was making that noise: It was a heart monitor. A heart monitor with sensors attached to none other than Ruby Rose.

_A constant beeping sound in a hospital. Way to use your brain Belladonna._ Now Blake felt a bit of stupidity for failing to recognize what the beeping had been. It had been inherently obvious.

"I've got mixed feeling about that thing." Yang said, drawing Blake's attention. "On one hand, I can't express how worried I am that someone thought that she needed that. On the other hand, well, I'm no doctor but I think that's normal for a pulse." There was a moment of silence between the two. "Uh…can we go back to me recalling what happened? It was actually a pretty good distraction from that."

"Yeah, go ahead." Blake said.

"Alright, where was I?" Yang thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. So after the boring brief, we tried to go to bed, the key word being _tried_. Ruby couldn't sleep due to her excitement and she kept moving around. Then Weiss got scared that Ruby's bunk was going to fall on her because it was swinging back and forth. Then you and I told them to go-"

"Any chance you could skip ahead a bit?" Blake asked.

"Sure, no problem." Yang replied. "Let's see so late night stuff, falling asleep, waking up, breakfast….how about I resume when we got to the train station?"

"That's a good spot." Blake said. "But if you can remember the station, then your memory's doing better than you thought it was."

"How so?" Yang asked curiously.

"Well, after the train station, it went by really quick after that."

"Really?" Yang asked. "How long was it?"

"Well it was…" Blake thought for a moment. "…Maybe an hour?"

"An hour?" Yang asked, sounding surprised. Here she was thinking she at least couldn't remember a whole afternoon or longer. And now she was being told that she just couldn't recall a single hour.

"An hour or two at the most." Blake said, her own disbelief making itself heard. Could _all_ that really have been over and done with so quickly?

"All right," Yang said a smile forming on her face. "Let's see if I can power through this. So train station, you and Weiss arguing about why the train was having a communication blackout….There was a train that had a communication blackout…Anyway, Ruby said it was likely that nothing went wrong, you and Weiss seemed to agree. Goodwitch showed up, told us the train was arriving. It arrived and was…" Yang shivered as she remembered. "_Covered in blood_. Well, I didn't remember that a minute ago."

_Well,_ Blake thought, _at least she's starting to remember._

"Alright, so I asked Ruby if she was OK a few times. She said she-"

_Wait a minute. _ Blake thought, Yang's voice tuning out. _When I recalled that thing I bolted upright in panic and was hurt due to my chest injuries. Yang and I were next to each other, so it stands to reason that we probably have similar injuries. So if she remembers that monster, then there's a chance that she'll…Uh-oh._

"-then told us to head into the train cars."

"Yang maybe I should just tell you what-" Blake interrupted.

"Hang on Blake, I'm on a roll." Yang said, remembering the events as she said them aloud. "Ok, first car was empty, second car was full of Dust, third car was…Covered in blood, had creepy wall gibberish, and some technologically overcomplicated voice mail that none of us could hear."

"Yang." Blake said, trying to give the blonde some warning.

"Another minute, I think I'm getting close to the end." Yang said. "The fourth car had more blood gibberish, a crate barricade, me doing something that warranted Weiss yelling at me, and…" Yang shivered again, feeling like she might puke. "…And a…melting corpse with a…" Yang felt her heart break as she recalled the White Fang member's last words. "And after we heard about…Then…Then…" Yang struggled to remember.

"YANG." Blake said urgently. _If Yang remembers then-_

"HOLY- GAAHHHH!" Yang yelled as she bolted upright, screaming at the pain that shot through her body as she did.

…_It seems she remembers._ Blake thought to herself. "I tried to warn you."

"Yeah," Yang said through clenched teeth. "I see that now." Blake saw Yang lean back slightly, only to wince and move herself back to her upright position. "Okay, going back down's worse. I'll just stay here for now."

Yang slowly turned her head to look at Blake. "Understand why you snapped now. How I forgot that thing I'll never know." Yang was silent for a moment. "Tell me if I'm misremembering this; you stabbed it in its _face_ and it still kept coming?"

"I didn't stab it."

"Stabbed it, impaled it, whatever." Yang said. "Point is, it had several inches of steel lodged in its _head_ and it didn't even react."

"…Yang help me make sure _I _know what happened." Blake said. "I threw Gambol Shroud and then I pulled it back. When I did, it was lodged in its head. Then, with the blade still in its head, it charged us. Is that right?"

"You saw it for yourself didn't you?" Yang asked Blake.

"Of course I saw it." Blake said. "I just can't believe what I saw." Blake thought for a moment. "The blade must have easily gone through its skull. It…It must not have had an aura, or the blade wouldn't have done that. Maybe…I dunno, some kind of Grimm?"

"Uuhhh… Don't most Grimm typically, you know, _die_ when they're stabbed through the head?"

"Actually," Blake sighed. "Everything dies when stabbed through the head. But it looks like we found the one exception." Blake closed her eyes.

_It had no aura so it didn't have a soul._ Blake thought. _But it's not uncommon for people to go about their lives with their auras locked. So aura may or may not…No, I shouldn't even try to factor aura in. Any idea I can think of is shot down by the fact that it should have been dead…I should have noticed that thing sooner. For crying out loud, I have four ears on my head, there's no excuse for me not hearing it sooner…_

_That's a lie and I know it. We were all listening to a man's last words. It seems that we found what he was so afraid of. And…And come to think of it, how did we not notice that thing sooner? It was dark, even I was using a flashlight, but I refuse to believe any of us are _that_ ignorant of our surroundings. So it must have come in behind us from the other car. No, that's even less likely. We even had the lights on in that car. So how the heck did it-_

Blake's eyes shot open in realization. _Alright, that might be a better question._

"Yang." Blake said, shifting her eyes back to her partner (who was still stuck in the upright position). "Let's stop asking ourselves _what_ that thing was."

"Why?" Yang asked.

"Because I thought of a much better question." Blake said. "_How_ did that thing get on the train in the first place?"

Yang didn't answer. For a few moments the only sounds that could be heard were Ruby's heart monitor and the sound of people walking by their hospital room.

"Ok, that is a good question." Yang closed her eyes as she thought for a moment before she spoke again. "Maybe it snuck on at the station?"

"I really think that someone would have seen it."

"Yeah but…" Yang took a deep breath, in and out. "The train didn't stop on its trip right? How could that get onto a moving train?" Yang's eyes suddenly shot wide open. "Blake I just realized something about that dead man's last tale."

"What?" Blake asked. Based on Yang's expression, this might be something bad.

"He said _things_." Yang said. "Things. Plural. As in more than one."

Blake's eyes widened. She looked at Yang and then up at the ceiling. "…Maybe we should stop talking about this."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Yang said. "No reason to, you know, freak ourselves out any more than we have to." Neither of them said anything. Once again the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

A minute passed. Then two. Then three.

"Just how much longer," Yang said. "Are we going to need to wait for someone to come in here?"

It was at that moment that the door began to squeak open, drawing the attention of the two girls. Glynda Goodwitch then stepped into the room, her scroll in hand. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw Yang sitting upright.

"Good morning Miss Long," Her eyes shifted over to see that Blake was also awake. "And Miss Belladonna."

"Morning?" Blake said, shocked. "How long were we out?"

"Calm down," Glynda said. "It's not actually morning."

"But you said-"

"I'm sorry if the expression confused you." Glynda looked down and pulled up a file on her scroll. "But it does make sense, with the injuries all of you sustained it's reasonable for all of you to be a bit dazed. But as for you Miss Long," She looked back up at Yang. "I had assumed that, with the damage to your ribs, you would have been incapable of getting yourself upright."

"Yeah, about that…" Yang said. "This hurts like crazy. I just can't get back down."

Glynda walked over to Yang's bed. She picked up a small remote that was laying on a small nightstand next to her bed. She pushed a button and the back of Yang's bed began to move up. When it reached Yang, Glynda handed the remote to her.

"Lean back and slowly lower the bed until you feel more comfortable." Glynda said.

"Thanks." Yang said in gratitude.

"You're welcome." Glynda moved over to Blake's bed. "I believe this is yours." She said, pulling Blake's ribbon out of her pocket.

Blake's eyes widened as she moved her hand to the top of her head. Sure enough, her bow was absent. She slowly reached out and took the ribbon from Glynda's hand.

"Thank you." She said softly. "I…I didn't even realize that it wasn't on."

"Like I said before, some confusion and disorientation are reasonable." Glynda walked over to Ruby's bed. She grabbed the edge of a curtain and pulled it around the bed. Since there was no overhead lead above Ruby, she was covered by the shadow of the curtain.

"Why'd you do that?" Yang asked, now leaning back in her bed.

"I was merely giving her a bit of privacy to rest." Glynda said. She took a good look at the expression on Yang's face. "Is something bothering you Miss Long?"

"Yeah," Yang said after a moment's hesitation. "It's…It's that heart monitor. I'm worried that-"

"Rest assured, your sister is fine." Glynda said, immediately seeing relief flood Yang's face. "I have been informed that it is merely a precaution. She seems to have sustained some additional chest injuries, seemingly unrelated to the explosion."

"We know." Blake said. "Same thing that did that tried to eat Weiss too."

"_Thing_?" Glynda asked. "And what exactly was this _thing_?"

"We have no idea." Yang said. "And we were trying to figure that out a few minutes before you came in."

"Then perhaps it is best if we move on to something else instead." Glynda said. "For instance-"

"But we can't just ignore whatever that monster was!" Blake said sternly. "It could still be on the train. We have to go and make sure-"

Glynda cut Blake off. "No, _we_ have to talk. Remember, Miss Belladonna, none of you are in a condition to get out of bed, let alone go to the station."

"But it might-"

"If you're worried about this _thing_ leaving the train, don't." Glynda said.

"Why?" Blake asked.

"You may not know this, but when a Dust explosion occurs, it can make the other Dust shipments unstable. It could result in a chain reaction. Due to that risk the entire area has been sealed off until a bomb squad declares the area nonhazardous. Until then nothing gets in or out. Though to be honest, I wouldn't have suspected a Schnee shipment to contain any unstable Dust. They tend to be quite through with their inspections after all."

"Uhhh." Yang looked away from Goodwitch. "That explosion may have, possibly, in a way, been my fault."

"What?"

"She shot the thing when it was standing on a bunch of fallen Dust crystals." Blake said.

Glynda looked over at Blake. "And why were there Dust crystals on the ground?"

"Uhhh," Yang said again. "That might've been my fault too."

Glynda looked back at Yang before she closed her eyes and shook her head. Blake caught her say something under her breath. It sounded like she said, "_Why am I not surprised?_"

"By the way Miss Long," Glynda said. "Why didn't you tell your team to come back when I told you to?"

"You told us to come back?" Yang asked, surprised and confused. "When?"

"After I finished listening to that audio file you sent me." Glynda said. "Your scroll should have contained an voice message from me. I left one when you didn't answer."

"Uhhh, sorta blew the speakers on my scroll." Yang said sheepishly.

Glynda was silent for a moment. "Didn't you just get a replacement for that same reason?"

"That's the same thing I said." Blake said.

"Ok, so talk of my scroll aside," Yang said, somewhat annoyed that both her partner and teacher had brought up the issue. "Why exactly did you want us to come back?"

Glynda frowned. After a moment of thinking she looked down at her scroll and began shifting through its files. Blake and Yang, seeing through its translucent screen, saw Glynda open a file that contained a single icon with a picture of a speaker.

"I wanted you to come back because of this." She sighed, pressing her finger on the icon. A small circle formed around the icon, verifying the command, and the screen began to display a loading bar. "The recording that you found. And… I'd like to apologize in advance."

"Apologize for what?" Blake asked.

"For playing it." Glynda said, never taking her eyes of the scroll. The scroll finished loading the file and all ears in the room were focused on the voice that came from it.

"_Never thought I'd actually ever use this thing._" The voice sounded exhausted, as though the person was out of breath. "_Never had a personal need for it. Not even sure if it's actually recording. My name… My name is-_" The man's message was interrupted by static.

"Some of the file was corrupted and some of the audio was lost." Glynda said, explaining the static.

"Yeah, well, it was damaged when we found it." Yang said. Glynda looked up at Yang. "I'll explain later."

The audio began to clear up. When the static had disappeared, the sounds of heavy sobbing could be heard from the scroll. After a few moments, the sounds of a shaky breath were heard before the man continued.

"_It…It was supposed to be a simple mission. Take this…This train from Hell and reroute it to the rendezvous point. We were to board the train roughly twelve hours after its initial departure. B-but when we actually got on…There was nobody. Not a soul onboard. We...We were at least expecting security androids. And we found'em too._" A depressed chuckle came out of the scroll. "_The newest models of Atlesian Knights…Reduced to piles of scrap. We were wondering 'What's going on? How did that happen?'…It didn't take long for us to find-_"

What came out of the scroll was a sound unlike anything Yang had ever heard. At first she thought that it was more static. But she realized what the sound was. It was a horrific, high-pitched screech. "_OH GOD NO! Get Away From Me! Stay Back! Leave Me Al-AAAAAAGGGHHH!_"

Glynda moved her finger towards the pause button. By the time she pressed it, Blake and Yang had both heard the horrific screams of the man being torn apart…and the shrieks of whatever was doing the tearing.

"And that's why I tried to call you back." Glynda said quietly. "I can't imagine how you two must have felt. It's…not right having to see a corpse at such a young age."

"Uh, two things." Yang said. She held up one finger. "One; is there such a thing as an appropriate age to see a corpse?" Yang held up another finger. "And two…there wasn't a body with the message I sent you."

"What?" Glynda asked, surprised.

"There weren't even any remains." Blake said. "It was just like the flatbed car. All blood, no bodies."

"Save for the last car we were in." Yang said. "There was a body there but it was _weird_. It was like-"

A new sound interrupted Yang, stopping her dead in her tracks. The noise drew the attention of Glynda and Blake as well. It was a single, constant tone. Coming from behind Ruby's curtain. And the steady beeping had ceased.

Ruby's heart monitor had just flat-lined.

Yang practically leapt out of her bed, the agony in her chest ignored and forgotten. She jumped over Blake, landed, and grabbed the curtain. With a single, powerful tug, she tore the curtain (and its railing) down.

And there, for all to see, was a rather dazed looking Ruby. She was upright, holding the sensors by the wires, watching them dangle with a curious (and confused) look in her eyes. The sudden sound of the railing hitting the ground drew her attention away from the things she'd taken off her body. She looked up and saw Yang, Blake, and Glynda all staring at her.

"What?" Ruby asked, completely clueless as to why they were all staring.

**XXXXX**

**I am **_**SO **__**SORRY**_** for how long it's been since I've last updated. Thank you all for waiting patiently, you all rock. (School started back up so updates are going to be less frequent.) Well, if you haven't already please fav, follow, or leave a review letting me know what you think of this chapter. And if you already have, Thank You. **


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